Positano Hotel:In April we stayed at the Hotel Pasitea for an incredible 140 Euro a night through Expedia. We had gotten a great rate of 175 euro through Best Western for being over 50, but as the date got closer, Expedia lowered their price. Had friends not stayed there before, I would have questioned going to a Best Western or having a god experience at that price.
All rooms have views and a small terrace. Breakfast is included and so are taxes. No steps. It is a bit away from the shops, but we could walk there. The staff was very, very nice and their recommendations on food were good. Our favorite restaurant was an unassuming tratoria down the street, Il Fornillo. Marguerite really took care of us there, and the pastas were to die for. Also the zuchinni rissotto was incredible.

Hi Kellbell, thanks! I actually read a lot of your posts from when you were planning your trip and they were extremely helpful. I'd love to hear more about how your trip ended up!

Re: Positano, we finally decided to go with Positano over Sorrento - although now that you mention the night life, we may have to rethink it...again! Then again, wine on the balcony doesn't sound so bad. We are trying to decide between La Tavolozza and Hotel California. The first one sounds nice and is so cheap that I would feel better about getting a driver to bring us to the hotel and spare our backs...but I've heard such great things about California, it's a tough choice. Let me know if you saw either of those while you were there.

Thanks!!

Neither of those hotels ring a bell, but I have to say, we weren't as active as I wanted to be. I fell down a flight a stairs the night of our rehearsal dinner and sprained my ankle. My own fault. . . too much red wine! : )

Anyway, it made it difficult for me to do as much stair climbing and exploring as I would have liked. We did what we thought was a long hike one day off the beach (not the main public beach), and as it turns out, we hardly went anywhere. Those stairs take a lot out of you!

We thought La Zagara in Positano was a fun place to hang out -- live music and a cool outdoor atmosphere. Great desserts! They have a website -- I can get it for you tomorrow. Also, we went to Conwinum in Positano which is a small wine bar. They had live music, too, but the singer was sort of cheesy (white pants with a white shirt with ripped sleeves, if you know what I mean). There was also a live concert in front of the duomo in Positano which was very cool. So. . . there are things to do, but just likely to be MORE things to do in Sorrento. I wouldn't have changed the way we did it.

Thanks KellBell, these places in Positano sounds great. Sorry to hear about your ankle, hope you were still able to enjoy everything!

Hi everyone, just wanted to give you our final itinerary - then I'll come back when we're home and let you know how it was!

Monday 6/28 - Rome - we're taking a chance and staying at La Cisterna in Trastevere. It has received mixed reviews but my cousin just spent the year in Rome and said that the area is the best place to be at night for great restaurants, wine bars, etc.

Tuesday 6/29 - Rome

Wednesday 6/30 - Rome to Positano by way of Naples and a side trip to Pompeii - in Positano we are spending 3 nights at the Hotel California

Thursday 7/1 - day trip to Paestum

Friday 7/2 - day trip to Amalfi/Ravello

Saturday 7/3 - back to Rome - we'll spend our last night at 58 Via Cavour which was fairly economical and has received some decent feedback - they also arranged a car to the airport for us the next morning for the cheapest I've seen so far (35E)!

Thanks again to everyone for your great feedback, I really appreciate the time everyone takes to help others out on this site. Stay tuned for the trip report!

Please post a report about 58 Via Cavour when you get back. There have been many posts removed concerning this hotel so there are several people interested in whether it is lives up to the hype by the owners.